Flyer for the 3rd Afro-Venezuelan National Congress, with the image of late Aristóbulo Istúriz and the caption: "Afro-Venezuelan National Congress. Unitary Platform of Afro Popular Power." Photo: Ciudad Maracay.
The 3rd Afro-Venezuelan National Congress began in Caracas on Friday, February 24, and will end on Sunday, February 26. The event, held in the Venezuelan School of Planning, will also be a tribute to the Cimarrón Mayor, the late Chavista leader Aristóbulo Istúriz. The main objective of the meeting is to consolidate a united Afro-Venezuelan platform, which, with the spirit of the Bolivarian Revolution, will work towards dismantling 530 years of colonialism, slavery, racism and discrimination.
The programe started on Friday with the accreditation of the 17 participating delegations from different regions of the country, and representatives of various social movements from the states of Amazonas, Aragua, Anzoátegui, Bolívar, Carabobo, Capital District of Caracas, Falcón, Guárico, Miranda, Merida, La Guaira, Monagas, Nueva Esparta, Sucre, Trujillo, Yaracuy, and Zulia.
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On Saturday, the plenary will start in the morning with tributes to Norma Romero and Aristóbulo Istúriz, by National Assembly deputies María León and Gabriela Peña, respectively. Then there will be speeches by the deputy minister of Communes and Social Movements, Fernando Rodríguez; the rector of the Bolivarian University of the Communes (UBC), Richard Delgado, and the minister for Culture, Ernesto Villegas.
The first assembly session will be dedicated to the bases for the political philosophies of the Afro-Venezuelan National Congress, in which Deputy Casimira Monasterios will speak on the “Insurgency of the Afro-Venezuelan National Congress;” Jesús “Chucho” García will deliver a lecture on “Afro-Venezuelan contribution to the construction of the multipolar world;” and Marizabel Blanco Sifontes, president of the National Council for the Development of Afro-Venezuelan Communities (CONADECAFRO), will speak about “Afro-Venezuelan Institutions: strategic planning.”
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On Saturday afternoon, the congress will focus on the operational structure of the event, with the participation of prominent speakers, including Maricarmen Vegas, Argenis Delgado, Ana Márquez, Ismenia Merceron, Jhon Antúnez, Carlos Pacheco, Mimar Silva, José Parra, Beatriz Aifill, Aixa Antúnez, Garys Petter, Orlando Ugueto, Roraima Gutiérrez, Ataguanadí Sánchez, Diógenes Díaz, Reinaldo Bolívar, Nirva Camacho, Marilina Chourio, Benito Herrera, among others.
The topics that will be discussed in the Saturday afternoon session range from the structure of the territorial deployment, educational training, Afro parliamentarian issues, productivity, health and ecosocialism, communication and culture, international scenario, Afro-descendant women, Afro-Venezuelan youth, to the laws of the election process of spokespersons scheduled for May 2023.
On Sunday, the closing day of the congress, the scheduled events include the proclamation of the Afro-Venezuelan National Congress, the swearing in of its national spokespersons, and the declaration of the closure of the congress. The concluding speeches will be given by Deputy Casimira Monasterios, Minister for Communes Jorge Arreaza, and the governor of the state of Miranda and national coordinator of the New Era Congress, Héctor Rodríguez.
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SC
